


Little Star - Lilith's Arc (Part 2)

by SleepyLilacGhost



Series: Little Star [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Multi, Slow Burn, Tag As I Go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:27:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25056952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepyLilacGhost/pseuds/SleepyLilacGhost
Summary: Lilith's big plan is to bring the Apocalypse.Even if Seren can't actively fight to stop her, she isn't stupid enough to remain with her arms crossed.But that's easier said than done.With everybody's attention focused on the 66 Seals, the vermin go unchecked and the nightmares grow bold.To complicate things a little more, angels are real. And they are not the harp and halo type.
Relationships: Dean Winchester/Original Female Character(s), Sam Winchester/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Little Star [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1303112
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 32 — Back on top

**Author's Note:**

> Third part of Little Star it's here! I can't believe we've made it this far.  
> And, with this, we start Season 4. This is gonna be fun.
> 
> On a side note, writting interesting summaries is hard when you are trying to keep plot secrets, well, a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads-up: I've edited the last chapter of Lilith's Arc Part1 [19June2020]. If you read it before that date, I apologize for the mess. It's already fixed and I've added a few little details. It's nothing major, so there's no need to re-read it if you don't feel like it.
> 
> I proofread it this time. Hope I caught most of the mistakes.

Brimstone smell. Humid heat. Tortured screams. Complete darkness.

The usual setting. The usual dream.

The usual _nightmare_.

More screams. Muffled. Outside. Same yet different. Not from damned souls, but from the demons. They sounded scared, terrified even.

Something was coming, and it wouldn’t be stopped. She could feel it, like a charge in the air. Powerful and fierce and dangerous.

And getting closer.

Ruckus outside. Fighting. The door burst open, flutter of wings echoing in the cavernous cell as two presences made their entrance. One went straight for Dean as he yelled in protest; the other went towards her, a pair of hands carefully cupping her face.

_Found you._

* * *

Seren woke up with a start.

She wasn’t alone in the room.

She _should_ be alone.

Swiftly, she reached for her knife but a searing pain made her falter for a moment, biting back a groan as she tried to breath though shallow breaths. With one arm hugging her ribs protectively, she forced her other hand to go for the knife.

Before her fingers had closed around the handle, the presence—whatever it might had been—was gone.

Still feeling half sleep, Seren took in the room she was in, searching for anything amiss only to find nothing. Everything was just as she had left it before falling asleep.

That didn’t make her feel any better though.

Cold sweat made her clothes stick to her skin. Her breathing was heavy, the pain on her ribs almost gone but still bothersome enough. Pulling her shirt up, Seren searched for any mark or bound or anything that could shine some light on what had happened. But there was nothing unusual there, just her old scars and normal marks due sleeping over cloth wrinkles for too long.

Had someone tried to put some sort of curse on her? Not likely, yet not impossible either.

A shiver went down her spine, making her hair stand on end. The air felt electric, as if a storm was looming on the horizon. Seren could feel the rumble of thunder in her chest. She turned to the window, only to see the morning sky, completely clear, not a single cloud on sight.

What was going on?

A high pitched yet low ringing hummed in her hears. She tried to guess where it was coming from, but it sounded constant didn’t matter where she was facing. Even when she covered her ears, she keep hearing it just as clear as with them uncovered.

Had she been listening to her music louder than she should?

Then, the ringing stopped.

Her eyes widened and her muscles tensed in anticipation.

She had to go. To move. _Now_.

As quickly as she could, Seren tried to gather her things, some of them falling from her shaking hands. She didn’t stop to get them. Not important. Not enough time. In fact, why was she even bothering? She just needed her essentials and Camille’s keys.

She had to hurry.

Practically leaping down the stairs, Seren rushed outside the house and dove behind Camille’s steering wheel, carelessly throwing her bag on the passenger seat. She heard whatever content she had managed to collect in her frenzy spill from the bag to the floor.

Curses fell from Seren’s lips as her shaking hands kept dropping the van’s keys when she was trying to insert it in its socket to start the van.

Since when did she have such lousy steady hand. Seriously.

After what felt like an an eternity of clumsiness, Seren finally got the key in its place. She turned it brusquely and Camille’s motor came to live with a loud roar. Without wasting more time, Seren sped down the street and out of the residential area.

Where was she going exactly? Truth be told, she had no bloody idea. Just a gut feeling that something had happened. Something good. And she was eager to find out what it was as soon as possible.

* * *

Dean should have predicted this.

“I’m not a shapeshifter!” He shouted as he immobilized Bobby so he wouldn’t slash him with the knife in his hand.

“Then you’re a Revenant!” The man retorted, fighting to break free.

Once he had disarmed him, Dean shoved Bobby away, the silver knife now in his hands. The old man was quick to turn around, guard high. Dean tried to keep his posture as non threatening as possible, a safe distance between them as he held the knife in sight, showing Bobby he had no intention of attacking him.

Had he really expected a warm welcome from the old hunter? Maybe. But, let’s be honest here. If the situation were reversed, Dean would have acted exactly the same.

“Alright.” Dean started. “If I was either, could I do this—” He started to roll up one of his sleeves. “—with a silver knife.”

The things one had to do to prove not being a monster.

Slowly, Dean made a cut on his arm, a trail of blood flowing from the wound.

Bobby made sure to carefully watch for any telltale reaction, finding none. Shock was written all over his face, mouth open, still unbelieving of who stood in front of him, in his own kitchen. But what other option was left?

“Dean?” He asked in a breath, emotion making his voice shake.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Dean sighed, taking a few tentative steps closer.

Bobby was taken aback by what was happening, his breathing becoming swallow. Shortening the distance between them, Bobby reached for Dean and hugged him tightly, further proving to himself that the boy was real, that he was back and very much alive.

Dean returned the hug, relieved the old man finally believed it was really him and not some monster posing as him.

“It’s good to see you, boy.” Bobby formally greeted him when they parted.

“Yeah, you too.” Dean returned, patting his shoulder.

Then, Bobby asked the one question that had been running through Dean’s mind since he woke up in his own grave.

“How did you bust out?”

“I don’t know.” Dean admitted in a beat, shaking his head slightly. “I just,” He turned to leave the knife on the table. “I just woke up in a pine box—”

When he turned to face Bobby again, the man splashed him with what Dean could only guess to be holy water. Or maybe just salt water by the taste. Trying to remain calm and not take his frustration out on the man, Dean spat what liquid had gone into his mouth to a side.

“I’m not a demon either, you know.” He sure was more than a bit fed up though.

“Sorry.” No, he wasn’t. Bobby was still holding the flask high, a kind of apologetic smile on his face. “Can’t be too careful.”

Shaking his head, Dean reached for the closest towel he found and wiped his face dry before leaving it resting on his shoulder. Bobby opened his mouth to say something as he turned to the studio when the roar of an engine approaching got their attention.

Dean turned to Bobby, silently asking if he was expecting someone. Bobby shook his head no before an absurdly loud and unpleasant screeching made them flinch, gritting their teeth.

Someone definitely needed to have their breaks checked.

“Bobby!” A familiar voice called urgently. “BOBBY!”

Both men went to the front door, reaching it just as the person outside knocked heavily on it once.

Bobby stepped closer, peeking through the window to confirm who it was, but he seemed to be having some difficulties to do so. With a grumble, and after motioning for Dean to stay back a safe distance, Bobby opened the door.

There, kneeling in front of the door with her picking tools in hand, was Seren.

“What are you doing?” Bobby grumbled, shaking his head

Her eyes were wide for a second at having the door opened for her, but she was quick to collect herself, putting away her tools and standing up to her full height. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as the movement and the breeze had made it get on her face.

“I called. You weren’t answering. Thought you were in the bathroom so I might as well let myself in.” Seren excused herself with a nonchalant shrug.

“That’s—”

“Not important.” Seren cut him, swiftly walking around the man and making her way inside the house. “No time. Something happened. Something _huge_.”

She headed straight to the studio, her eyes barely taking in Dean’s presence as she went. He saw her freeze mid step, expression unnaturally neutral and calm as her head turned to make a double take, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

“Hey,” Dean greeted her with a half smile and an awkward wave, wondering how she would react.

He never had expected for Seren to charge straight at him.

Bobby made an attempt to catch her and restrain her so they had time to explain the situation, but he wasn’t fast enough. Seren avoided him swiftly as she went towards Dean. The Winchester tried to stop her, but she was more agile, dodging him easily before forcefully tackling him. The impact made Dean lose balance, falling to the floor, his back crashing against Bobby’s desk, books and empty bottles tumbling loudly to the floor.

Bobby hurried to pull Seren away from Dean but stopped short when he took in what was happening, a kind of bemused smile on his face as he huffed in relieve.

Seren was hugging Dean, and to say the Winchester looked confused about this turn of events would be an understatement. He was sitting on the floor, his back against the desk. Seren was straddling his legs, her arms tightly wrapped around his torso while he held his hands in the air, unsure of what to do with them or where to put them. He tried to spy Seren’s face, but she had her forehead resting against his chest.

Feeling awkward by the second, and since Bobby didn’t seem to have any intention of helping him out of this little situation, Dean opted to give Seren a soft pat on the shoulder to get her attention.

Just when he was about to do so, Seren scurried up and away from him. Avoiding looking at any of them, she went to the chimney and casually leaned against it. Neither Dean nor Bobby missed how she took advantage of tucking her hair out of her face to discreetly dry a stray tear from her eye.

It was so obvious she was trying to keep appearances. Well, it was a little too late for that now, and Dean would make sure to remind her later on. But there were more urgent matters at hand.

“So, what was so urgent?” Dean asked as he got up.

Seren turned to face him, head tilted in question.

“Something huge?” Bobby echoed her words as he picked up the fallen books to put them back on his desk. “Bigger than this?” He motioned at Dean’s general direction.

A little confused frown appeared on her face for a moment before she realized what he meant.

“Yes. Well, no.” Seren paused, trying to sort her thoughts. “It might be related, actually.” She averted her gaze to the floor, scratching her cheek as she added. “I’ve been to Dean’s grave—”

“And what were you doing there? Leaving flowers?” Dean was quick to ask, suspicion coating his words. “Why was I even buried in the first place?”

“Sam.” Bobby and Seren answered at the same time.

“He said you’d need a body when he got you back.” Bobby said. “That’s all he said.”

“What do you mean?” Dean became tense. “I… I tried calling him, but his number’s not working. He’s—”

“He’s alive.” Bobby was quick to say, before adding, staring at Seren. “As far as we know.”

“Wait.” Dean’s brow furrowed in exasperation. “What does that mean, as far as you know?”

“It’s been months since I’ve talked to him.” Before Dean could say anything, Bobby elaborated. “After burying you, Sam went on his own and cut all communication. Tried to find him, but he didn’t want to be found.” He nodded towards Seren. “I got worried, so I asked her to check on him.”

That took Dean by surprise, quickly turning to Seren to hear her side of the story, specially what had happened with his brother. It took her a moment to realize he was expecting for her to simply explain everything without having to ask about it. She didn’t look too happy about that.

“Last time I saw him was a month ago.” Seren sighed, crossing her arms. “Was searching for a way to bring you back or kill Lilith. If both, better.”

“Well, he’s got half done.” Dean huffed passing a hand down his face. “Oh, damn it, Sammy.”

“What?” Bobby and Seren stared at him.

“I’m back, aren’t I?” Dean said, arms extended to show proof A. “But whatever he did, it’s bad mojo.”

“I don’t think it was him.” Seren muttered as she bit her nails.

“You’ve seen the grave site.” Dean snapped. “It was like a freaking nuke went off.”

“Still—”

“And then there was this… this force. This presence.” He was rambling now as Bobby and Seren just looked at him, trying to understand what he was telling. “I don’t know, but it, it blew past me at a fill-up joint. And then this.”

Not stopping to think, Dean took of his jacket, putting it aside before rolling up his sleeve to show the hand print branded on his skin. Both Bobby and Seren stepped closer to take a better look at the raised skin.

“What the hell?” Bobby muttered, his eyes fixed on the angry red mark.

“It was like a demon just yanked me out.” Dean said. “Or rode me out.”

“But why?” Bobby asked, not following his train of thought.

“To hold up their end of the bargain?” Seren guessed, her brow furrowed as she kept staring at the brand before looking at Dean. “You’re thinking that Sam made a deal.”

“It’s what I would have done,” he confirmed with a nod.

“I don’t think so. Not that it’s what you would have done.” Seren was quick to amend when Dean gave her an affronted look. “You already did make a deal to get your brother back.” She muttered. “It’s just that I don’t think this is part of a deal. Nor demon’s work, for that matter. What would they get from setting free a Winchester just to get the other? It doesn’t make sense.”

“If you have a better hypothesis, I’m all ears, sweetheart.” Dean dared, frustration in his voice.

Her logic seemed plausible, and that coming from the one with most experience dealing with demons was something to take into account. But Dean couldn’t admit she might be right. Doing so would mean he had absolutely no idea what was going on and, right now, he needed something familiar to work with. Something he could understand.

“And you still haven’t told us what were you doing at my grave,” Dean reminded.

Seren tensed, her eyes looking away at the empty fireplace. She worried on her lower lip for a moment as she rubbed her neck, only for her fingers to get tangled on the chain around her neck.

“I… Uh… I felt a…” Dean was surprised to see her so troubled. Normally, she would be able to hide it better behind her mask. “I followed a hunch.” She finally got out, her hand fidgeting with the ring hanging from the chain around her neck. “I just had this impulse to just… move. Like I was supposed to be somewhere else.” Her voice was low as she said that, as if thinking out loud. “I didn’t even really know where I was going when I got in Camille.” She admitted in a whisper, sounding lost.

A heavy silence settled in the room as the two men stared at Seren before exchanging a look between them. None of them knew what to say to her little revelation nor how to deal with it. Bobby had more experience with Seren’s hunches. But those had been on the range of an uncanny sixth sense. A mere high tuned intuition.

A ringing sound broke the silence as one of Bobby’s phones went off in the kitchen. Not without giving a little look between Seren and Dean in an attempt to guess if they would remain being civilized with each other, Bobby went to answer.

“So,” Dean started, not liking the awkward silence. “A hunch.” He huffed a baffled laugh at the thought. “You followed a hunch. Blindly.” There was a pause before giving Seren an incredulous look. “Really?”

She rolled her eyes at him, “Yeah, say it like it’s the weirdest thing that’s happened today. Why not?”

“Seren,” Bobby called, his head peeking in from the kitchen as he showed the phone in his hand. “It’s for you.”

Head tilted, Seren pointed at herself, a confused expression on her face. Bobby gave her a curt nod as he motioned for her to hurry up.

“Who is it?” She asked as she strode to the kitchen. “A job?”

“Just answer the damn phone,” Bobby grumbled good-naturedly, a badly hidden little smile on his face.

That only made Seren more confused and Dean, more curious. He had to find Sam, make sure he hadn’t gotten himself in trouble. He wouldn’t even mind if Seren was right and his little brother hadn’t made a deal to bring him back—not much.

That’s what he should be doing, but a part of him needed a little distraction. A small one. A childish one. One out of pure curiosity. Like eavesdropping a certain phone call. It was just so tempting.

“Hello?”

Who said Dean didn’t have some time for a little innocent snooping?

After swiftly picking up a random book from the ones Bobby had scattered over his desk, Dean went to the kitchen, casually passing besides Seren. He didn’t spare a look at her in case he would get her attention.

With the book open in his hands, eyes fixed on it as if he was focusing on whatever was written on it, Dean made his way to the fridge to pick a beer, as he listened to Seren’s one-sided conversation.

“Breath.” Did she just chuckle? “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. No. No. No.” She sounded slightly more annoyed and puzzled with each negative. “You are babying me. Again.” She let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry. Still, you shouldn’t— What?”

Frantic patting noise caught Dean’s attention. Taking a quick glance over the rim of the book as he nursed his beer, he saw Seren frisk herself with one hand, searching for something and coming with nothing, it seemed.

“Don’t say it.” She warned to the person on the other side. She was pinching the bridge of her nose. “No— Don’t— And you said it.” She let out a defeated sigh. “No, I’ll—”

Just then, Seren turned and her eyes met Dean’s.

He had been caught.

Trying to play it cool, the Winchester focused his attention back on the book only to realize now that the letters were upside down. Dammit. Didn’t matter. With just a bit of luck he might had picked up one of those old leather books where the title had long worn off from it’s cover.

Still, Dean was sure that Seren had grown suspicious of his presence. He could feel her eyes lingering on him for a long minute before she turned away, resuming her conversation.

“ _Sí, s_ _igo aquí._ ” Oh, switching to Spanish was a low move. “ _N_ _ada._ _S_ _ólo un hurón fisgón_ _._ ” For some reason she sounded amused. “ _Termino aquí y voy_. _Vale_. _Nos vemos_.”

Maybe Dean should pick up his Spanish lessons.

After Seren hung up, there was silence. Tense silence. Dean could hear a clock somewhere. He couldn’t remember if Bobby even had a clock around.

Nobody made a move.

Ever so tentatively, Dean stole a quick glance at Seren over the book he still held as cover. She was standing there, her back leaning on the wall with her hair loose, soft waves cascading over one shoulder. She had her arms crossed, head tilted to a side while her sharp brown eyes were fixed on him.

_Always observing as he was torn apart._

Suddenly feeling his throat dry, Dean took a big gulp of his beer.

“Ethan got in trouble again?” Bobby asked, walking in the kitchen from the studio. Seren gave him a disapproving look. “It’s not my fault that kid has such a bad luck.” He shrugged.

“He’s safe, just got worried.” Bobby gave her a questioning look. “I left most of my stuff behind, so he though something might have happened.”

“And he calls here just to check?” The man didn’t look happy. “Am I your secretary now?”

“I may have left my phone behind.” Seren admitted reluctantly, lightly scratching her cheek with her index. Now it was Bobby’s turn to give her a disapproving look. “I was in a hurry!”

“To follow a wild hunch that compelled you to drive without a real destination.” Bobby pointed out, brows knitted together.

Seren became tense, opening her mouth to retort and defend herself. But she closed it, pressing her lips in a tight line, no words to refute what Bobby was remarking: that she had not only been careless but reckless too.

Something clicked in Dean’s mind then.

“It has to be related.” He said, leaving the book aside as he got up. “Me being back and her showing up not much later? I mean, you got here quite fast, sweetheart.” He noted, talking directly to Seren. “All because of some hunch?” Dean shook his head. “I don’t buy it. Too much of a coincidence.”

There was a frown on Seren’s face as she tried to understand the meaning of his words. When realization dawned on her, her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before her expression turned neutral, guarded. She had put her mask on. Looking between Bobby and Dean, she waited to see if any of them had anything else to add.

But they remained silent.

“I better leave,” she announced with a clipped tone before turning to Bobby. “Keep me updated, please.”

As soon as the man had nodded, Seren practically stormed out of the room. Dean called for her, going after her only to get the front door almost slammed on his face.

“Freaking witch,” Dean protested as he went back to the kitchen, where Bobby was making a sandwich. “What’s wrong with her?”

Bobby let out a sigh as he shook his head, “Idjit.”

* * *

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m sure, Ethan.” Seren answered sounding tired, her voice bordering on monotone.

The delicious smell of cinnamon tickled Seren’s nose along with the intense aroma of freshly made coffee. It made her mouth to water. In her hurry to get to Ethan’s house, Seren skipped dinner and driven until late night. The last thing she had eaten had been a granola bar she had found in the glove box by chance —no clue how long it had been there— and the occasional candy, and that had been before getting to Bobby’s house. To say she was ravenous was putting it short.

“Because it sounds to me like you are trying to act tough.” Ethan called again, voice rising over the loud sizzling of bacon. “Are you trying to act tough?”

“Maybe.” Seren closed her eyes, wincing at her own reluctant admission.

Stupid no-lying policy.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked after a moment.

“No, I don’t.” Her tone was harsher than it should.

What was she supposed to tell him? That Dean was back from Hell? That he suspected his little brother had made a deal and that whatever demon had brought Dean back had psychic paged her to go pick him up or something?

Or maybe she should try to explain about the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that kept insisting that demon’s had nothing to do with it. That it was something else completely.

No, she should probably talk about how it had felt like a slap in the face when Dean had insinuated she was in cahoots with the demon that had brought him back, as per his theory. Maybe she could tell Ethan how her blood had boiled at the mere idea of that being true.

It was funny, really, now that she thought about it. She was the one that had a Pact that the demon queen held at her convenience. She was the one that had made deals with said queen’s second in command. And it’s not like she had kept her little collaborations hidden. So why get mad now about being accused of working with demons when she had never felt any shame about it before?

Because it no longer felt like a means to an end. Only a burden she couldn’t wait to get rid off.

“Okay,” Ethan stretched the word playfully. “Just know that I’m here if you ever want to talk about it.”

“Dully noted,” Seren couldn’t help but to laugh.

She couldn’t be more grateful of having him as a friend. He was the kind of person that was always ready to help or to lend an ear, even if Seren rarely accepted the offer. The less he knew about certain things, the better.

“Food is ready!” Ethan announced in a singsong voice. “Today’s topic of conversation for brunch: The Romanticized Perception of Vampires in Young Adult Novels.”

Oh, no.

“Can’t I have my brunch to go?” Seren whined, eyes tightly closed and head to the ceiling, wishing for a way out.

Pearls of laughter came from down the corridor, “No glittering vampires this time. I swear.”

* * *

It wasn’t until night time that Bobby got in contact.

Just a short text. The words “you were right” followed by an address and a name: Pamela Barnes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little nervous about this part and chapter.  
> We are getting to the part where is heavily intertwined with canon episodes, so I'll be using quite a lot of dialogue from the actual series which is scary. Feels like doing a copy-paste and I don't want that.


	2. Chapter 33 — Seánce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I fixed the format issues. Libreoffice was just adding tags that it uses but confuse the rich format here.  
> It's a bit of a pain but fixing that is less troublesome than formating the text here, so a little victory for me.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Nice neighborhood. That’s the first thing Seren noticed as she drove around it, looking for Pamela’s house and not finding it for some reason. She was sure it was the third time she had seen that penguin shaped bush. Hard to miss it or mistake it for something else.

After getting a few nasty looks from some passerby residents, Seren decided to park Camille in a well seen spot and get to the medium’s house on foot. Unfamiliar moss-green van with tinted black windows cruising around such a nice neighborhood? Suspicious. Young woman in knee-ripped jeans and an oversized pale yellow hoodie leisurely strolling around as she searched for a family’s friend’s house? Cool, just don’t loiter for too long.

Maybe she should listen to _tía_ Rosa’s suggestion of painting a flashy mural on the sides. Bobby had been against it when the same suggestion had come up back when Camille had been still in the work. He had said it would get people’s attention. Too recognizable. Too easy to track.

And he was right. Although a change of color might be a good idea. Pearl-gray seemed like a nice option.

With a sigh, Seren checked her reflection on the sun visor’s mirror to make sure the scar on her temple remained concealed under the makeup. Not her best job, if she was being honest. She should retouch the cover but didn’t feel like doing so. For anyone to notice, they would have to be less than a palm away from her face. Pretty improbable.

Passing her finger through her hair, Seren moved it so it fell more on her left side, just in case.

She stepped out the van, closing the door and locking Camille before taking an exaggerated look around her as she tied her hair in a high ponytail. Taking a deep breath as she basked in the warm sunlight for a moment, Seren started walking while ignoring the growing butterflies in her stomach.

* * *

A séance. That was Pamela’s plan to finally find out what had brought Dean back to the surface. She had tried questioning the spirits about that matter, but no one knew nothing.

Guiding the Winchesters and Bobby inside her house, Pamela started to get everything ready for the séance. She spread a tablecloth full of strange symbols over a round table while Bobby closed the heavy curtains, blocking the daylight.

When Pamela crouched to pick up some candles from a cabinet, Dean spotted an interesting tattoo on her lower back—Jesse Forever. So, of course, Dean had to ask about that Jesse, which lead to some interesting flirting.

Really interesting.

He was already thinking about staying after the séance. To be eaten alive, as Sam had put it. His little brother could wait in the Impala like he had done in other occasions or just—

“You are invited too, grumpy.” Pamela said as she passed besides them, stopping to give Sam a once over followed by a wink.

Oh. Hell no.

“You are not invited.” Dean quickly snapped at his brother with a warning finger before he could get any ideas.

Sam just laughed, bemused. Like he would want to be in the middle of whatever that was. He still had some common sense left.

Just as Pamela motioned for them to take a seat around the table, box of matches ready in her hand to light the candles, the doorbell rang. Excusing herself, Pamela hurried to check who it was.

“Must be Seren,” Bobby commented.

“Seren’s here?” Sam asked, turning to his brother before adding in an exasperated whisper. “Why is she here?”

Surprised by his tone and attitude, Dean turned to face Sam. His little brother looked tense, for lack of a better word. His eyes were narrowed as if he was trying to read Dean’s answer on his face, brow furrowing slightly as the seconds passed.

“I told you she went to Bobby’s soon after I got there.” Dean reminded him. Sam’s raised eyebrows meant that wasn’t reason enough. “She wanted to know what it was.” Sam’s frown deepened. Still not enough.

Dean wasn’t sure what else to say.

“It seems Seren was drawn to Dean’s grave when he was brought back.” Bobby explained. “Almost summoned there.”

“More like compelled.” Seren’s voice said from behind Pamela as they walked into the room. “Hello, Sam.”

“Hey,” he greeted back weakly, staring away from her.

The Winchester looked uneasy by her mere presence there. Seren was no better, her posture tense, on guard, eyes fixed on Sam. Dean couldn’t help but to wonder what had happened between these two while he had been gone.

But now was not the time for that.

“You are late,” Dean pointed out with a little smirk, trying to defuse the situation a little.

In Seren’s case, it seemed to work. Shifting her weight to one leg and crossing her arms, Seren gave Dean an unamused expression with an arched eyebrow, gaze fixed on him.

“How, exactly, can I be late when no time was set, pretty boy?” She sighed, her brow sightly scrunching in annoyance and confusion as she tilted her head to a side.

“Don’t listen to him,” Pamela laughed, resting one of her hands on Seren’s shoulder before motioning for the table. “Everything’s ready. Shall we?”

“A séance?” Seren took a step back, both from the setting and Pamela’s touch. “I don’t think it’s a good idea—”

Pamela hushed her, assuring that the ritual was completely safe and that it would be perfectly fine. But Seren didn’t seem convinced in the slightest, her lips pressed in a tight line.

Her eyes looked around the room, staring at Dean for a long moment before going to Bobby. Everybody noted how she blatantly skipped Sam. Dean gave his brother a questioning look, to which Sam simply gave a shrug as a response.

Taking note to ask about it later, Dean’s attention went back to Seren and Bobby. The old man was giving her a questioning look. Annoyed, Seren cleared her throat with a little cough, covering her mouth with her fist.

Her gloved fist.

“It’s just holding hands, Seren.” Bobby sighed. “Shouldn’t be much, right?”

Seren’s expression said she wasn’t so sure about that. And since when did she wear normal gloves instead of her usual fingerless ones?

“Is there any problem?” Pamela asked, visible puzzled by the exchange.

“She’s not too keen about touching people.” Dean told her, keeping it vague.

That only seemed to confuse the medium more. With her brow lightly furrowed, Pamela turned to everyone present, waiting for one of them to fill her in. She needed more details than that poor excuse.

After a silent discussion with Bobby, Seren let out a resigned sigh before stating that she was a tactile telepath —it had a name? Her expression looked detached when she added that she had no control over it, raising one of her gloved hands as some sort of proof.

Dean would swear he heard his brother scoff at that, but when he turned to check, Sam was just coughing.

“I see.” Pamela nodded. “Must be troublesome.”

“Has it’s ups and downs,” Seren replied with a shrug. The corner of her lips twitched up for a moment in a strained smile before she added. “And a lot of mental privacy invasion.”

“One could guess,” Pamela laughed.

“You guys go on with the seánce.” Seren motioned to the table with the candles, what could be considered an apologetic expression on her face at the delay her presence and circumstances was causing. “I’ll wait outside and—”

Pamela shushed her, motioning for Seren to remain right where she was while giving the men a warning look to not let her go nor drive her away. Absentmindedly tapping her index on her chin, Pamela seemed to contemplate something, a lopsided smile appearing on her lips as her eyes were fixed on the table she had set.

“Would it make you—” Pamela motioned to the men in the room without even looking at them. “—too uncomfortable if she participates?” Mouths opened to answer but before any word left them, she continued. “Because, if she does, we would be five.” She gestured to the pentagram drawn on the tablecloth to mark her point. “There’s advantage in certain numbers, and we definitely should make the most of it.”

With a gruff sigh, Bobby said he had no problem with it and that they should hurry up. Surprised, Dean turned to the man just in time to see Bobby give Seren a reassuring nod. She returned it, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

Now they only needed for either Sam or Dean to accept for the seánce to go on as a group of five. The brothers stared at Seren for a moment, debating their options as she stood in place. She was looking right in front of her, back straight, feet apart and hands on her back—an almost perfect parade rest.

Something about that stand seemed to tick Bobby off.

Not without first exchanging a look between themselves, Sam and Dean gave their answers, their words mixing together.

“Not a good idea for me.”

“If it helps, count me in.”

* * *

As soon as she heard the words, Seren’s head whipped to look at the Winchesters. She had not expected for any of the boys to accept Pamela’s plan of being five participants for the seánce. She tried to look unfazed, but was certain she wasn’t doing such a good job.

If she was surprised by the outcome, the Winchester were even more so. That was for sure. Both brothers were looking at each other with wide eyes and mouths agape, more than a few questions crossing their minds.

But that would have to wait for later.

First, the seánce.

Once it was decided, Pamela hurried everybody to take a seat at the table, not forgetting to add a fifth chair. As she lit the candles with a match, the medium kindly reminded that, just as the candles had to be burning, the circle should remain closed until the end of the seánce if they wanted it to work.

Still unsure about being part of all this, Seren reluctantly took off her gloves. Pamela was right. Numbers had a high importance for this kind of rituals. Pick what could be considered a bad number and it could mess up everything. Of course, it depended on what kind of ritual one was working on. Not all of them were so delicate to take date numbers into account, for example.

“Earth to Seren,” Pamela’s cheery voice brought her back from her thoughts. “Take each other’s hands.” She repeated.

Having been caught preoccupied, Seren looked around herself only to find the other’s had their hands linked, waiting for her to do the same to proceed.

No backing down now. She could feel her pulse shaking as she placed her hands on the table’s surface.

Her gaze fixed on Bobby, waiting for one last nod of reassurance, Seren forced her trembling had to hold his offered one as she took a deep breath in in an attempt to calm herself.

As soon as their fingers touched, she felt it. Bobby’s mind. She could hear his thoughts, full of questions and worries. They sounded like distant whispers, all too far away for her to comprehend.

Good, good. That was good.

Breathing out, Seren turned to Pamela and offered her hand. Without much of a second though, the medium reached for it, her finger closing over it softly. And there it was, Pamela’s mind. It felt upbeat and cheeky. Lively and upfront. But that was all. Not even whispers. Just a song with no lyrics.

Great. Now Seren only had to keep her distance from the minds she was connected with and wish for the best.

“I need to touch something our mystery monster touched.” She heard Pamela explain.

Seren was too enthralled as she watched the candles’ flames flicker to notice the medium’s hand slide to Dean’s tight just before he jumped in his seat, his leg hitting the table with a loud bang.

“Well,” Dean started, his eyes wide. “He didn’t touch me there.”

“My mistake,” Pamela apologized with a little laugh.

Seren didn’t need access to her minds song to know her words weren’t sincere. The little wink the medium gave her only confirmed her impression. It almost made Seren give a knowing smile in return.

With a nervous look to the group, Dean took off one of his shirt’s sleeves before revealing the mark on his arm. His attention automatically drifted towards his brother, to see his reaction.

Sam’s eyes fixed on the handprint branded on Dean’s arm, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find words to voice his questions. He turned to Bobby. The old man herd his stare for a moment, completely calm, before looking back at Pamela. Sam didn’t need more to understand that Bobby had seen the brand before and no more information about it than he had. They would have to wait for the seánce to clear that mystery.

Visibly more relaxed but still on alert, Sam’s attention flickered for a moment to Seren. A slight frown adorned his expression when he noticed she didn’t look surprised at all by the mark’s reveal either. Pressing his lips in a thin line, Sam turned his attention back to Pamela’s actions.

Whispering a soft okay, the medium rested her right hand on Dean’s arm, her fingers and palm overlapping the ones of the brand.

Seren felt Pamela’s grasp on her hand shift, the connection to her mind now gone. The medium’s fingers moved up and under the hoodie’s sleeve so they could close around Seren’s wrist. Then, with a little tug, Pamela guided Seren’s right hand closer to Dean’s left, a silent instruction for them to close the circle so the seánce could being.

It was still hard to believe that Dean Winchester had agreed to all this. Sure, he didn’t look thrilled at the idea of Seren taking even the smallest of peeks —unwillingly, mind you— inside his mind. But, let’s be honest, who would?

Seren limited herself to watch him nervously flex his fingers, and wait as his eyes were fixed on her hand. She was sure that, if she were to be the first to reach for him, Dean wouldn’t take it well. He might be able to put up with it for the seánce’s sake, but after it? Seren could already hear him throwing accusations on the base of her being a witch. She already had enough with one Winchester giving her subtle wary looks, so it was on her best interest to remain on Dean’s good side —not that she had any idea how she had gotten there, to be honest.

After a moment of hesitation, Dean placed his hand over Seren’s and held it. First thing Seren noted was that his palm was kind of sweaty; second thing was the buzz of nervousness his mind was projecting; and, third, Dean had his gaze fixed on her, cautious, as if waiting for her to enter some sort of trance and start spilling his deepest secrets.

He should already know that was definitely not how her ability worked. And was he holding his bloody breath in? Seriously?

“Concentrate,” Pamela instructed, her eyes already closed.

The group followed suit.

Taking a steadying breath in, Pamela started chanting, “I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle.”

Seren tried to concentrate on the droning sound of her words to distract herself just enough from the minds she was in contact with. But, of course, there was an annoying one nagging at her with its own curiosity. It felt like a five-year-old kid, constantly asking why about anything and everything.

Cracking one of her eyes open to take a peek, Seren found Dean doing the very same thing, his attention on Pamela as she chanted. He made a weird face before looking at Bobby and then at Sam. Both of them were keeping their eyes closed.

It took Dean a while to notice that Seren was looking at him, an unimpressed expression on her face. Flustered due being caught red-handed, he mouthed an affronted what her way. Seren limited herself to shake her head softly, silently tutting at him.

Bit ironic considering she didn’t have her eyes closed either. In this case, having one eye open was as bad as having both.

Dean was about to point that out —somehow— when the TV behind Seren turned on, his attention snapping to it on reflex.

Static filled the screen as white noise flooded the room.

After taking that in, Dean’s gaze went back to Seren. She was trying to take a peek out of the corner of her eye, to see what was going on without actually turning, but it was out of her field of view. She seemed tense, subtly rolling her shoulders before squaring them.

Not without first stealing a quick glance at Pamela, Seren gave Dean one last concerned look before closing her eye, lowering her head slightly as she let out a small sigh.

Just like Pamela, Bobby and Sam showed no reaction, their eyes tightly closed as the chanting continued. Even when the table started rattling, they remained still.

“Castiel?” Pamela said, her chant cut.

A cold shiver shook Seren’s body at the name, making her muscles become taut. It caused for her fingers to twitch, giving an involuntary squeeze to both Bobby and Dean. She could feel the Winchester giving her a puzzled look as a new question echoed in his mind. On the other hand, Bobby returned the little squeeze, an unsure yet comforting sensation reaching for her.

Seren was more preoccupied on what she was feeling coming from Pamela. She shouldn’t be feeling anything from her at all, for starters. Pamela was the one touching her, not the other way around. It didn’t work like this.

It _shouldn’t_ work like this.

Yet it did. Because Pamela was a medium? No, that couldn’t be it.

“Sorry, Castiel, I don’t scare easy.” Pamela assured.

Maybe she should.

“Castiel?” Dean echoed.

“It’s name,” Pamela explained. “It’s whispering to me, warning me to turn back.”

Seren could feel the warning too, through Pamela’s touch. No, not her touch. Not exactly. The feeling reached for her through Pamela. She could sense it invading her, from her wrist and up her arm before it crept into her chest, grim and ominous.

_Too close. Danger. Don’t._

But something else came to Seren along with the warnings. Something completely different. Something familiar. It was faint, like a blurry memory of a long forgotten dream. It teased and taunted her. Seren tried to remember, but nothing came to mind. Maybe if she had some more time to—

“I conjure and command you, show me your face.” Pamela ordered.

No.

_You won’t withstand the sight of me._

Seren’s blood ran cold, a wave of dread filling her heart. Her eyes snapped open, alarmed, looking at Pamela as she resumed her chanting.

She was playing with fire.

Before Seren could even open her mouth to dissuade her, Pamela’s grip on her wrists tightened as she shook her head no. Displeased, Seren pressed her lips in a tight line, her gaze turning to Dean for support, but he had closed his eye tightly.

Bloody hell.

The white noise from the TV became worse, its pitch becoming higher. The trembling of the table became more violet, its rattling getting louder and unnerving.

“Maybe we should stop,” Bobby suggested, his tone trying to sound calm as his eyes were fixed on the six trembling candles on the table

Seren wanted to second him, but feared she wouldn’t be able to control her voice like he had. Her eyes were intently fixed on the shaking candles too. If she blew them, the seánce would be over. It was way safer than carelessly breaking the circle.

“I almost got it.” Pamela insisted. “I command you, show me your face!”

The table’s shaking became so violent its legs started creaking, threatening to break. The white noise became even louder, almost deafening. It’s ringing would be stuck in their ears for hours.

She was too close.

“Pamela, stop it!” Seren shouted, voice breaking as her heart hammered in her chest.

This was a mistake.

“Show me your face now!”

“No!”

A terrible mistake.

The candles flared up, their six flames rising high and almost reaching the ceiling. Pamela’s eyes shot open, a terrified expression on her face as a shrill scream broke out of her throat. It grew louder than the commotion around them as her eyes burned with a white fire. The pain turned her grip on Seren’s wrist into a vise, nails digging into skin and drawing blood.

Pamela collapsed, her eyes closing as she fell from her chair. Seren reacted fast enough to catch her before she hit the floor, lowering her carefully, wishing that the medium was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, her mind’s screams reaching her crystal clear for Seren to hear.

_Oh god. What was that? Oh god, oh god. My eyes! It hurts so much! It hurts. It hurts. It—_

“Call 9-1-1!” Bobby shouted as he knelt besides Seren to tend to Pamela.

Sam and Dean got on the move. The former quickly strode to the other room where the phone was, while the later crouched besides Pamela to check on her.

The woman was conscious, her whole body trembling as she sobbed.  
The skin around her eyes was burned, trails of blood sliding down her cheeks as if they were red tears. Her eyelids flew open, showing nothing behind them but black empty sockets.

“I can’t see!” Pamella cried. “I can’t see! Oh god!”

Dean looked up from the woman to Bobby, the man’s expression a mirror of his own shock. Then, he turned his gaze to Seren, to check her reaction only for his alarm to increase when he saw her face.

Eyes red and puffed, Seren could barely open them. She was blinking profusely yet slowly, grimacing in pain each time as stray tears rolled down her cheeks. Dean would be surprised if she could see anything at all thought the small opening between her eyelids.

“What happened to you?” Bobby asked her, worry clear in his voice.

“I, uh… I’m not sure.” Seren stuttered slowly, shaking. She tried to sort her thoughts as she kept blinking, causing more tears to fall. “I think I saw it. That… thing. In her mind.” She lowered her gaze in a vain attempt to see Pamela’s physical state, her own eyes dazzled. “Just a glimpse through a crack.” She added in a half-whisper.

And she should be grateful it had been just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After checking old chapters for the bazillion time, I've come to realize that my proofreading skills suck big time and that my readers have the patience of saints for dealing with it.  
> I'll try to fix them little by little.
> 
> Love you lots and hope you are doing good.


	3. Chapter 34 — Not a Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm still here.  
> Sorry for the delay and I hope you like it.
> 
> ...I'm going to apologize beforehand for my proofreading. I'm tired.

The medics hurried to take Pamela to the I.C.U, their main objective to stabilize her and make sure there was no further damage then what could be seen. Once that was dealt with, the doctors would wonder and throw half cooked hypothesis about what kind of hazard could cause such damage.

Seren had gone to E.R. at Bobby’s insistence. She kept saying she just had a rather severe case of dry eye. Some eye drops and moisturizer for her eyelids, along with good rest and using sunglasses for a while, and she would be as good as new. She kept repeating that even as the doctor examined her.

“Shut up and let the professionals treat you.” Bobby grumbled.

“You say it like I’m resisting,” Seren complained. “Am I resisting, doc?”

“She’s behaving nicely.” The doctor assured with a little laugh as she checked Seren’s eyelids. “Can you tell me again what you were doing when this happened?”

“We lit some candles and they flared.” Stick to the truth but don’t give details.

The doctor gave a curt hum in response along with a little nod. She took a little peek at Bobby in case he wanted to add anything, but the man gave away nothing more.

Since Pamela and Seren had gotten in together and presented different degrees of the same symptomatology, it was important for the medics to determine the cause. Understandable, but it wasn’t like Seren or Bobby could give them a straight answer. In fact, the simple thought of telling the whole truth had Seren biting back a half hysterical half amused smile.

Why, yes, doc. We were doing a seánce and whatever entity we summoned burned our friend’s eyes just from taking a look at it while I got secondhand burn for peeking in her mind. Such a normal occurrence these days, right?

A clicking sound got Seren’s attention before a light flashed on her eyes. First, the left one; then, the right one. The doctor must be checking her pupils reaction, she guessed. Because she couldn’t see. All her eyes could perceive were confusing blurs of colors. Being positive, her eyesight was already better than when they left Pamela’s house. Back then she could only perceive light variation, as if her eyelids were closed. So being able to distinguish blurs of colors could be considered an improvement.

With a second click, the light was gone.

The doctor sighed before another clicking sound reached Seren’s ears followed by the light scratching of a pen on paper.

“So?” Seren asked, starting to sway her legs lightly as they hung from the stretcher. “Diagnosis?”

The doctor let out a sigh before answering, “It seems to be a mix between a severe dry eye and a burn.” She didn’t sound too pleased with her own conclusion though.

“What did I tell you?” Seren boasted, turning to the blur that was Bobby with a smug smile on her face.

The top of the blur moved lightly, which could only mean that  
Bobby shook his head at her. Seren heard him let out a long sigh that turned into a groan by the end. Aside from that, he made no comment.

“Keep your eyes closed. Don’t force them.” The doctor instructed and Seren complied. “A nurse will bandage your eyes after putting drops in them and lightly rubbing some ointment on your eyelids.” She started explaining, as she kept scribbling. “I’ll prescribe you some eye drops for you to apply each four hours. Sooner if you notice any sort of discomfort.” She finished stamping a loud full stop. “Do so in a dim light and don’t forget to put some ointment on your eyelids and to change the bandaging each time.” Seren gave a nod at each instruction. “Once your vision becomes clear and your eyelids heal, you can stop with the bandages, but use sunglasses to protect your eyes from the light. Not the cheap kind. It would be counterproductive.”

“Not the cheap kind.” Seren echoed. “Duly noted.”

And, with that, the doctor left to attend to another patient.

“Those who are with Ms. Barnes?” A nurse called over the other sounds and voices in the E.R. unit.

Bobby answered the call, motioning towards Seren to point that he needed a moment before going to talk to the nurse. The man nodded and waited where he was as another nurse consulted something with him.

“Be right back.” Bobby told Seren, softly patting her shoulder to get her attention.

Seren gave him a small nod and a muttered sure.

Bobby returned the gesture before starting to leave. He had taken a few steps already when something came to his mind, making him stop on the spot and turning to face Seren with a frown.

“I better find you right there when I get back, missy.” He said with a warning finger. Not that she could see it even if she had her eyes open, but still.

Seren wanted to roll her eyes at him so hard. Sure, she didn’t like hospitals one tiny bit, but she still had some common sense. Being out on her own while blind was worse of an option than waiting for him in there. Also, she wanted to know how Pamela’s situation had evolved.

“Aye-aye, captain.” Seren answered with a mock salute.

A huff from Bobby reached her ears before his steps went farther away, disappearing between the rest of the noise in the place.

Not long after, a sweet nurse greeted her kindly, hurriedly asking for Seren to lay down on the stretcher. She went over what the doctor had already said, about putting eye drops, applying ointment and bandaging her eyes. The woman made some small talk as she worked, mainly lightly commenting family stuff like her sister-in-law discovering the relaxing properties of crochet, or how her son was having a hard time with some of his classes in college.

Thankful for the distraction, Seren tried to listen, to pay some attention. But her mind kept going back to the seánce, desperately trying to wrap itself around what had happened. About what she had seen through Pamela.

What was that thing? No demon, that’s for sure. Dean owed her ten bucks. If they had actually bet anything. Damn it.

“Time for the dressing,” the nurse said, carefully guiding Seren and helping her to sit up. “Tell me if it’s too tight, okay?”

Seren gave a hum as answer, lost in thought.

As soon as she was out of there, the Winchesters and Bobby would start with the questioning about what had happened back at Pamela’s. She had already admitted to seeing something, of seeing Castiel, so it would be for her best interest to sort her own thoughts about the matter before the interrogation started. It wouldn’t look good if she doubted herself while answering their questions.

So, what had she seen exactly?

A body of white fire. Huge and bright. Like a sun. That’s how it had felt to look at it. Like staring directly at the sun. But instead of a blurry afterimage burned in her retina afterwards, Pamela’s eyes had burned completely.

_You won’t withstand the sight of me._

A shiver went down her spine and her pulse spiked at the memory of the warning and of what had happened when it had fallen on deaf ears. She tried to breathe, to calm herself, but the stench of burned flesh haunted her. She could still smell it, stuck in her nose, choking her, making her nauseous with each breath she took.

If only Pamela had listened to them. Seren should have made her listen. She should have blown the bloody candles and put an end to the seánce. Having the Winchesters, specially Dean, throwing accusations at her for doing so would have been a thousand times better than this whole situation.

There was no point dwelling on that. The past couldn’t be changed, it didn’t matter how recent it was.

Seren forced herself to recall more details about how Castiel looked like. She was sure the hunters wouldn’t admit ‘ball of burning light’ as a valid response. But what little detail she could have appreciated was just too bloody hazy and confusing. Seren couldn’t be sure if she had seen any sort of eye but had felt as if a dozen were staring at her. And—

A pang of pain hit her head, making Seren hiss and flinch. The nurse quickly apologized as she loosened the bandages, asking where it had hurt so she could check. Seren tried to wave her off, assuring that it was fine, but the nurse wouldn’t drop it.

“I’m back.” Bobby’s voice announced. “Everything good?”

“How’s Pamela?” Seren was quick to ask, cutting the nurse’s response.

But the woman would have none of that. She updated Bobby about her status, telling him that she had already put the eye drops and ointment, and was just finishing with the dressing, not forgetting to mention the flinch. She also added how Seren seemed to be feeling dizzy just by seeing the way she was grabbing the edge of the stretcher.

Damn it. That nurse sure had sharp eyes.

“Don’t bother. It’ll pass soon.” Seren assured both of them. At least, she hoped it would be soon. “How’s Pamela?” she asked again.

“Stable.” Bobby answered and Seren let out a relieved sigh. “They are taking her out of I.C.U. as we speak.”

“Can we go see her?” There was a long, awkward pause. Seren could hear the nurse’s awkward little chuckle. “You know what I mean.”

“Doctors want to keep her sedated for a while. To let her rest.” Bobby explained.

“You should rest too.” The nurser pointed out as she finished fixing the bandages in place. “You can stay here for—” She seemed to be checking something. “—like a quarter of an hour. Today is a slow day, so it shouldn’t be a problem. She should be under observation.” The woman said to Bobby in what failed to be a whisper.

“I already am,” Seren pointed out, blindly motioning in Bobby’s general direction.

The nurse just huffed, surely shaking her head at her before giving Bobby a meaningful look. Seren didn’t care. She didn’t even bother to listen to whatever the woman had whispered to Bobby before her steps walked away from them.

“I agree with her, you know?” Bobby admitted to Seren as if it was a secret, leaning on the stretcher besides her. “But would you be able to stay in a hospital for that long?” He sounded skeptical. “If you can, we could check on Pamela before leaving.”

“Well,” Seren stretched the word, thinking as she swayed her legs in the air. “Not being able to see that I’m in one might help, actually.” Her bluff only lasted a few seconds. “So, we leaving now then?”

“Paperwork and get your medication first,” Bobby pointed out.

With a little alehop, Seren got down from the stretcher, turning to give Bobby a lopsided grin. She had moved too much though and now was grinning at a column. Bobby shook his head at her, not bothering on commenting about her misstep. He would save it for later.

“I bet you a pizza that I can get to the door without any help,” she said, head high as she pointed blindly. Once again, her position was off, ending up pointing at a wall. “Make it two pizzas if I do it without crashing into something.”

Doubtful.

Not waiting for Bobby’s response, Seren started walking to where she thought the exit would be. A mumbled idjit reached her ears, which only made her smile grow wider and for her steps to become more confident.

Now she was set to earn some free pizzas.

* * *

It was late afternoon when the roar of the Impala’s engine could be heard outside the motel Bobby was staying in. Slightly drawing the curtain so he could take a look, he saw Sam and Dean get out of their car and walk to the reception to check in.

“They are here,” he announced.

Seren hummed in acknowledgment, her mouth full of pizza.

Bobby let out a slightly annoyed sigh.

The original plan had been to go get some food after their little assembly with the Winchesters, but Seren wouldn’t stop quietly complaining about how hungry she was, how her body needed the nutrients to heal properly, and how she had earned some pizza fair and square with their little bet.

Bobby had never accepted such bet though, but no point arguing about it. He had spent enough time with Seren over the years to know about her little gimmicks, and it was clear to him that her attitude at the moment was one of them. One meant to distract him of a bigger issue, using her hunger and being slightly annoying as a smokescreen.

He had noticed how she held her hands to conceal their trembling, or the little wincing from time to time. It was as if she were testing just how tender an injury was, how much she could push it before it hurt.

When he had grown tired of her theatrical whining, Bobby had given in and had allowed her to order her pizza and have it delivered to their room, which didn’t mean that he was happy about it. The whole exchange with the delivery guy had been the poor kid stammering the order and its price, Bobby handing the cash with a frown, and Seren cheerfully singsonging her thanks to both of them from the sofa.

There was a loud knock on the door before Dean’s voice called for Bobby. The man opened the door and the pair of Winchesters went inside, their heavy steps cluing Seren of their position. She gave them a lazy and silent salute as she kept eating, not even caring if the boys had seen the gesture or not.

“Demon’s know squat,” Dean announced before quickly adding. “Which still doesn’t mean you are right, sweetheart.”

Seren scoffed loudly before biting a mouthful of pizza to keep herself quiet and not start a pointless argument.

His steps sounded lighter as he came closer to where she was, stopping at a safe distance, but still quite close. Seren had a little hunch of what would happen next, her mind already picturing the whole scene. If she was right, she had to wait for the perfect timing to make her move.

Not yet. A bit more. Now.

Blind as she was, Seren waved her hand over the pizza as if to shoo away an annoying fly.

There was no fly, but she sure got to swat Dean’s hand away from her pizza as he reached for a slice.

The action left him with a bewildered expression on his face, slowly blinking as he stared between his swatted hand and Seren, trying to fathom how she had known. She obviously couldn’t see and he was sure he had made no sound that could have given him away.

Searching for answers, he turned to Bobby and Sam, as if to ask them if they knew how Seren had done it. Bobby’s answer was a shake of his head, while Sam shrugged his shoulders.

Taking advantage of Dean’s confusion, Seren stuffed in her mouth what was left of the slice in her hand before dragging the box closer to herself. She picked it up and placed it on her legs, positioning it so its lid could be used as a barrier in case Dean tried to steal a slice again.

“Mine,” she said, mouth still full. Once she finished chewing and had swallowed the food in her mouth, she added, “Go get your own pizza, pretty boy.”

“Selfish,” Dean muttered, taking a few steps away. “How are your eyes?” he asked after a pause.

“Would be better if I had some choco-chips ice cream,” she answered as she picked another slice of pizza, closing the box’s lid after. “They are already better than they were, though.” She took a bite. “And I still have them, so I can’t complain.”

A tense silence settled in.

Seren kept eating her pizza—in little bites now—waiting for any of them to ask the question that hung heavy in the air. It crossed her mind for a moment that the Winchesters and Bobby might be waiting for her to start talking. When one of them cleared his throat as a prompt for her to do so, she was sure that had been their assumption.

She blatantly ignored said cue.

They all should know better by now, specially Bobby. She didn’t give information; she answered questions. Might sound similar but, for her, they were completely different. Simply answering was a safer procedure for her because, when one speaks freely, the tongue tends to become loose and it’s easier to have a slip-up.

“You said you saw something,” Sam started. “What was it?”

“Not a demon.” She answered between bites, opting to ignore the hint of harshness in his tone.

Someone took air in—quite noisily if Seren could say so—surely to question her affirmation. But before they had the chance to voice their doubts, she cut whoever it had been with a quick gesture, motioning to be given a few seconds so she could swallow the bite in her mouth and justify her conclusion since it seemed to be necessary to do so.

“Have you ever heard of a demon that burns people’s eyes out at its mere sight?” She couldn’t help but to scoff. “Because I haven’t and, last time I checked, I’m quite acquainted with demons.” She took a big angry bite of pizza before adding. “At least a bit more than some of you are.”

“Okay. Fine.” Dean reluctantly accepted after a pause. “Not a demon.” He repeated, still unconvinced, but if this was the only way for the conversation to move forward, so be it. “Then what is it?”

“I don’t know.” Seren admitted, matter-of-fact.

Dean wanted to either scream or hit his head against the wall, and he was sure he wasn’t the only one.

“But it’s not a demon.” Bobby calmly insisted, just to make sure.

“Nope.” Seren let out an exaggerated pop sound. “No demon.”

“How?” Sam asked, sounding exasperated. Seren could imagine him gesticulating with his hands in annoyance. “How are you so sure it’s not a demon?”

“Apart from what I’ve already said?” He answered her with a categorical yes, his brother’s voice echoing it. “Didn’t seem like a demon.”

“Didn’t seem—” Dean cut himself off, taking a deep breath in to calm himself. He was losing his patience with this conversation. And with her.

Specially with her.

Truth be told, Seren was being difficult on purpose. Why? Because the more annoyed the group was with her attitude, less detailed her answers could be—or so her theory went. Now, if she told them she had seen a huge mass of white fire, they would simply accept that and move on to what to do next. No more questions about what she had seen in case she kept beating around the bush.

All this just to buy herself some time. Time to understand what was happening with herself. Because there was something wrong or, at least, not right.

Seren had no idea why, but each time she had tried to think about Castiel’s appearance, to make out more details out of what she had seen, her head started hurting. Like a warning prod. It was as if something were trying to keep her thoughts from following that trail. To know more.

That only made Seren more curious though. But she would refrain herself. For now at least.

“And what did Castiel look like for it to ‘don’t seem like a demon’?” Dean finally asked, and Seren was sure he had made air quotes even if she couldn’t see them.

“A huge mass of white fire,” she answered, following her little script.

“What? Like a star?” Dean wondered, puzzled.

“Did you see anything else?” Sam was the one to open his mouth and ruin Seren’s plan with his question.

Of bloody course.

Lucky her she was blindfolded, because otherwise she would have sent the younger Winchester the nastiest of glares.

She tried to think of a way to divert the conversation, but nothing came to mind. He had formulated the question too directly. Seren couldn’t find a way of avoiding answering without having to tell a lie—or telling them to go ask Pamela about it. Diverting the conversation wouldn’t work either.

She was out of options.

Moving the pizza box from her legs back to the table in front of her, Seren rested her elbows on her knees before resting her head on her hands, her indexes resting on her temples while her thumbs did so on her cheekbones. In that position, she would be able to hold still when the prodding started.

She would not lie to them.

“Yes,” she admitted, concealing her reluctance to do so. She brazed herself. “There were eyes.” Her head started to hurt. It started sooner than she had expected. “I think.”

“You think?” Dean echoed.

“Something was moving around it.” Seren continued hastily, ignoring him. She had to be quick. Like taking off a band-aid. “Ring with… With Sigils and… Ugh…” Just a bit more. “Feathers?” No, not that. “Wings!”

Enough. She had already pushed it more than she should, the pain making her feel dizzy. Easy to conceal in her current position.

“As I’ve said, not very demon-like,” she concluded, leaning back on the sofa with a sigh.

As soon as she stopped thinking, stopped remembering, the prodding stopped too. It left a dull pressure in her head and a faint ringing in her ears though. After this, Seren wouldn’t feel guilty to send them to Pamela for more information if what she had shared wasn’t enough for them.

Waiting for the pressure to soften into nothing, Seren listened to Sam, Dean and Bobby throwing ideas around about what she had seen. But, as expected, nothing fit the description completely which only seemed to frustrate them more.

At some point, the topic shifted to actual demons, particularly the ones that had approached Sam and Dean at a diner. Bobby asked them some questions about the encounter, but Seren paid no attention to that part of the conversation. Too busy with her own thoughts.

Had been for a while now, thinking of her own words. The ones she had used to describe Castiel. Somehow, when she had heard the boys and Bobby echoe them as they discussed, it had brought back a vague memory of an illustration. She was sure to have seen it in one of Bobby’s old books. She even remembered to have found it between the ones stored in the second floor, the ones he barely consulted but kept just in case.

If she could only recall what the book was about.

When Seren tuned back into the conversation, Sam and Dean were saying their goodbyes to Bobby before leaving for their own room.

“I better go catch some Zs while I can,” Seren announced not long after the door closed.

“Weren’t you already?” Bobby asked. She had been way too quiet the whole time.

The man saw her get up from the sofa and stretch a bit before picking up the box with what was left of her pizza, surely to leave it in the room’s fridge for the next day. A yawn almost escaped him, so he decided it was best for him to take a short nap to keep himself fresh. That was until he saw Seren walk in the door’s direction, arching his eyebrow at the sight.

“Where do you think you are going?” he huffed, crossing his arms. Guessing her answer word by word, he kept talking. “You can’t sleep in Camille in your condition. And doctor said you have to be under observation.”

“Actually, it was a nurse who said that.” Seren corrected with a know-it-all little smile.

Shaking his head with a fed-up sigh, Bobby went to Seren and took her away from the door and closer to the bed, softly pushing her back with one hand. Making a show of resisting, Seren complained about Bobby babying her, promising to get her sweet revenge if their roles ever got reversed.

“In your dreams, missy.” Bobby laughed, patting her shoulder.

* * *

An annoying low ringing got Seren out of her sleep.

Slightly disoriented, she tried to take a look around to place herself only to be greeted by darkness. Her heart skipped a beat, panicked, before she remembered the blindfold protecting her eyes from any source of light, along with everything that had happened that day.

The soft rustling of pages being passed back and forth reached her ears. It was soothing. Familiar.

“Weren’t you going to take a nap too, old man?” Seren slurred, lazily rolling in the bed.

“Already did,” Bobby answered. “Twenty minutes. On the dot.”

“How long was I out?” Seren asked, getting up to sit on the bed, her feet on the floor.

“Hard to tell,” Bobby laughed, making her huff. “But forty minutes, at least.” A little thud could be heard as Bobby closed the book he had been checking. “Asked if you had some holly wood in your van but you didn’t answer.”

“Only got that by advanced order.” Seren yawned. “Do we need holy wood?” The ringing got more obnoxious. “What’s that bloody noise?” She complained loudly.

There was a moment of silence.

“What noise?” Bobby sounded somewhat confused.

Couldn’t he hear it? How…

A shiver ran down her body at the sudden realization the tt might be just like the ringing she had heard before being compelled.

Feeling Bobby’s eyes on her, she tried to keep her act together

“Are you going deaf, old man?” Seren joked, trying to sound nonchalant even as uneasiness spread within her. “Or maybe my hearing is too good.”

As subtly as she could, Seren plugged one of her ears, disguising the action as if she was just scratching it.

Just as she had expected, the ringing remained the same, much like the morning Dean had been brought. But this time, it felt different. So similar yet not the same.

Seren tried to concentrate on the ringing, but it stopped abruptly. Her whole body tensed as she waited for whatever would happen next.

A sense of dread filled her.

She had to go. To move. To run.

To get away from Dean.

Wait, what?

Containing her trembling as she fought the impulse to obey, hands tightly closed into fists at her sides, Seren tried to think and process what was happening. The first time she had heard the ringing, it had compelled her to go to Dean as if her life depended on it; now, she was supposed to do the exact opposite.

Was that why it sounded different?

Just what the hell was going on?

She opened her mouth to call for Bobby—she had to tell him before it got out of hand—only for her voice to be drowned by the sound of glass shattering.

Her head whipped on instinct in the general direction of the noise, her nerves on edge. It sounded as if someone down the corridor was hellbent on destroying anything and everything in their room made of said material.

“Wait here!” Bobby ordered as he stormed out the room and to the source of the noise.

Seren remained paralyzed where she sat, lips pressed tight as her heart hammered in her chest. She heard Bobby call Dean’s name between the breaking of glass and it made her spring up from the bed.

_Run_ , her gut feeling told her.

She felt around for her boots and put them on as fast as she could before blindly walking to the door and feeling her way through it.

_Run away_ , it insisted.

With resolute steps, Seren followed Bobby’s voice.

Her hunches might have always been right, but this time they were clearly biases by whatever that ringing was.

And like hell would she leave before getting some answers about what was going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of lacking energy to write these days, I'm sorry.
> 
> Love you lots and hope you are doing good.


	4. Chapter 35 — Angel of the Lord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Still alive and around here.  
> Wanted to get this chapter out before the year ended (at least in my time zone) so I was in a bit of a hurry. Tried to keep errors and typos to a minimum, but you already know how that usually goes for me.  
> Hope you like it.

Even if his ears were still ringing, Dean could clearly hear Seren’s constant sighing from the backseat of Bobby’s car. She had been doing that the whole time after leaving the motel, even as he spoke with Sam on the phone. All because they had left her stupid van behind instead of towing it as she had suggested.

“Would you stop already?” Dean complained loudly, eyes on the roof.

The scoff he got as an answer made him turn to face her, annoyed and ready to give her a piece of his mind, but stopped short when he took her posture in. On a first impression, Seren was acting much like a petulant child, legs and arms crossed, head turned to a side and lips slightly puckered. But, on a closer look, Dean saw how her legs were bouncing nervously, and the way her hands were tightly holding her own arms as she hugged herself.

To say she was on edge would be an understatement; and Dean didn’t find that comforting at all.

“This will do,” Bobby muttered almost to himself, pulling over near an old warehouse. “Are you sure about this, Dean?”

“One hundred percent,” he said firmly with a curt nod. Taking his attention away from Seren, he turned to face Bobby before adding. “I’m not letting it get me by surprise again.”

“May I make a suggestion?” Seren chimed in, one of her hands raised.

“Does it have anything to do with your van?” If it was, Dean didn’t want to hear about it.

“Yes and no.” Seren tilted her head first to the right and then to the left. “It’s about my stuff, which is in Camille.”

“We are not going back for it, sweetheart.” Dean deadpanned, opening the car’s door.

“But I have talismans, charms—”

“Too late for that,” he cut her, a bit too harshly, as he got out. He slammed the door closed, the noise drowning her complains.

Seren let out a string of curses as she reached for one of the back doors. She felt around for its handle, hastily opening the door to follow the Winchester and almost falling face first in the process as she tripped on the frame.

“We could be better prepared!” Seren called after him.

Dean just kept walking, ignoring her.

“Just listen to me, would you?” she shouted, frustrated with the whole situation. His steps stopped. “I’m not telling you to forget about the bloody summoning, even though we have no bloody clue what Castiel is, much less if he has any kind of weakness.” Worth pointing that part out. “I’m telling you to be prepared for _anything_.”

“And we are,” Dean assured. “Right, Bobby?”

The man looked between the two of them for a moment, debating his answer. He couldn’t deny that Seren was right. The arsenal he had in the car was diverse, Bobby was sure of that fact. He was always prepared to face anything he knew of and then some, but the extra protection Seren’s craft could provide would be really useful. But the time it would take for them to go retrieve it would be a huge inconvenience for Dean, and Bobby didn’t trust the boy to stand still if left on his own, much less with a blind Seren for company. 

“Bobby,” the girl called for him, her tone stern even if the man could discern a hint of a pleading in it.

“We don’t have much time.” Was his answer.

Seren’s shoulders dropped as she let out a defeated sigh.

“Fine,” she practically bit out, shaking her head in resignation. Squaring her shoulder in a breath, she added. “Let’s take this bull by its horns then.”

Her steps were confident as she walked to the warehouse, even if Bobby had to redirect her so she wouldn’t crash with the doorframe. Dean couldn’t help but to let out a little snicker at the scene, bemused.

After getting Seren settled inside, Bobby and Dean started to prepare the place, clearing everything in it out safe for a pair of tables they had found inside. Those would come in handy to lay they weapons and other trinkets they would need.

First things first. They had to ward the whole place.

“Scoot over, sweetheart.” Dean said, not waiting for Seren to react before moving her away from the table she was leaning on.

He expected for her to complain for being manhandled, but not a single grumble left her lips. Seren limited herself to move a few steps away before leaning against the wall instead, her head slightly low as in deep in thought. At some point she had taken one of her gloves off and had started to nervously bite her nails.

“That’s a bad habit,” Dean commented offhandedly as he got on the table so he could spray paint some protection sigils on the highest parts of the walls.

“Could be worse,” Seren mumbled back, shrugging her shoulders without a care.

“You are gonna draw blood at this rate,” Dean insisted. Seren clicked her tone in annoyance at him, but a single side-glance was enough for Dean to confirm that she had hurt herself already. “Told you.”

She waved at him dismissively with her other hand as she kept biting her nails, not minding the blood pooling on her little finger’s nail.

Bobby called Seren’s name, and she was quick to stand to attention. The man handed her a spray can asking her to help with the wardings. Puzzled, Dean kept stealing glances at them while Bobby listed some protections for her to draw. Dean had expected for her to point out her obvious blindness but, once again, Seren didn’t react as he had thought she would. Her answer was a vague description of the symbols in question, making sure she had gotten them right.

Once she got bobby’s confirmation, Seren gave him a curt nod before turning around, loudly shaking the spray paint with one hand while her naked one felt around for the wall, caressing it as if studying its surface.

When she started painting, her pulse was firm and steady, and her movements, precise. Seren sure knew her symbols by heart. Not a single stroke out of place. No mixing the protections up nor any miscalculated distance.

It was impressive.

Kind of.

“Take a picture pretty boy.” Her voice surprised him, her tone slightly stiff. “Might last longer.” She added with a half shrug, a hint on an amused smile on her lips.

Dean opened his mouth before having even thought of a comeback, and was quick to close it when an obvious realization came to his mind: she couldn’t see. So there was no way for her to confirm he had been caught staring unless he actually acknowledge it, which meant that, if he fell for her little taunt, he would be admitting he had been looking at her a bit more than he should.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Dean said, a smug, victorious smile on his face. He got down the table with a jump, leaning towards her before before adding. “I’m kind of busy at the moment.” As if to prove his point, he loudly pushed the table so he could reach a different part of the wall.

“Of course you are,” Seren conceded, patronizingly, her little smile more visible and lopsided.

Taking a few steps sideways, she kept drawing symbols on the wall, humming a soft tune Dean couldn’t quite catch.

It ticked him off. Her general attitude, not the song.

Yet.

He felt tempted to keep insisting that he hadn’t been looking, but that would only make him more suspicious, so his best option was to simply drop the subject. She had no proof that he had been watching her. Let her believe whatever she wanted. He didn’t care anymore.

The frown on his face and the annoyed sigh he let out as he got back on the table said otherwise.

* * *

“This is one hell of an art project we’ve got here.” Dean commented as he took a look around the warehouse.

From floor to ceiling, every surface was covered with a plethora of different symbols.

And those might not even be enough.

“Traps and talismans from every faith on the globe. And a little extra.” Bobby added, pointing at a section Seren had worked on. “How you doing?”

“Stakes, iron, silver, salt, knife.” Dean enumerated, pointing at each object showcased on the table. “Pretty much set to catch and kill anything I’ve heard of.”

And, still, not enough.

“How about you, sweetheart?” Dean asked, turning towards her. “Plan on going full Daredevil on whatever comes or something?”

That would be kind of cool, actually.

“I would have to train some more for that.” Seren thought aloud. “Just,” As she stretched the word, her hands reached for the bandages covering her eyes, undoing them. “Give me a second.”

“It’s too soon, Seren.” Bobby admonished. She shushed him softly which made him frown. “At least go outside. It’s too bright in here.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” she insisted, only a pair of cotton pads protecting her eyes as she picked a pair of hot pink sunglasses with blue lenses from her hoodie’s pocket. “I’ve got it covered.” She assured, putting them on with a lopsided smile.

“Doctor said no cheap sunglasses.” Bobby reminded her, crossing his arms.

“Got the lenses tested. Surprisingly, they are good.” Seren told him as she discarded the pads, leaving them on one of the tables.

The men waited for her to say if she could see, leaning in front of her in an attempt to guess. Her expression was completely blank. The only thing they could see was their bluish reflection on the glasses.

“So?” Dean asked, tired of waiting.

“Need a test.” With only that as a warning, Seren produced a knife out of thin air.

The action caught Dean completely by surprise, making him almost jump away from her. Bobby remained still, his eyes following her movements as she seemed to check around.

With a swift motion, Seren spun around before throwing the knife to the farthest walls, its blade hitting right in the middle of one of the circles of a symbol.

“On point?” She asked them, sounding unsure.

“Perfect bullseye,” Bobby sighed, shaking his head. “But next time ask for a proper target instead of risking damaging a protection.”

“Sorry,” she looked truly apologetic. Even with those glasses on.

Seren had other things in mind to worry about the symbol’s integrity. It’s not like it couldn’t be redrawn. These wards were no different than a salt circle: if broken, it could be fixed. It would be different if they had needed a ritual while drawing them or if what they had used as paint was a specific mix.

“What a speedy recovery,” Dean commented, a hint suspicion in his voice but no real malice. He arched an eyebrow her way, “Witch stuff?”

“Witch stuff,” Seren confirmed as she retrieved her knife from the wall.

Truth be told, it was a bit more than that. Not like she would give him more details. 

“Freaking witches, man.” Dean grumbled, scratching the back of his head. “Anything else you want to add?”

Seren shook her head no.

“This is still a bad idea.” Bobby reiterated.

“Yeah, Bobby, I heard you the first ten times.” Dean rolled his eyes at the man, fed-up with his constant worries.

“Maybe you’ll actually listen at the eleventh time.” Seren chimed in as she checked the weapons at their disposal, a certain knife piquing her interest.

The glare Dean sent her left it crystal clear that he didn’t appreciate her sass at the moment.

“Let’s ring the dinner bell, shall we?” He said towards Bobby, his tone softer.

Not without giving Dean a look of his own for his little lashing out, Bobby moved to where he had left the invocation almost ready. He just needed to add a pitch of powder and start the chanting.

Dean and Seren watched the man work. As soon as he added the powder, the mix in the bowl started to smoke. His eyes fixed on it, Bobby begun reciting the Latin text for the invocation. 

Now, they just had to wait.

But the group had not expected to have to wait so much.

The summoning had been finished about fifteen minutes ago and nothing had happened yet.

After spending those long minutes standing or pacing around, both hunters had opted for sitting on the tables. While Dean had opted on checking the weapons a few times before simply playing around with the magic knife, Bobby was whistling and idly swinging his legs in the air, shotgun on his lap.

Seren stood with her back resting against the wall behind Bobby, joining his whistling from time to time. But her senses were elsewhere.

Outside. With Caleb.

As discreetly as she could, she had summoned her hell-hound as a back-up of sorts. He had been scouting the surroundings since his arrival, and standing guard as soon as Bobby had started the summoning.

It was thanks to Caleb’s presence there that Seren’s eyes worked after less than twelve hours from being severely damaged. Not that she could tell her present company about it. And, no, she didn’t lie when Dean had asked if it was witch stuff. It wasn’t her fault only a specific kind of witch could use that sort of spell.

The kind with a familiar bonded to them.

This was still kind of a new situation for Seren. Even if it had been a bit more than a decade since she had become Caleb’s master, the hell-hound had been her familiar for barely six months. Truth be told, she hadn’t been sure if her little trick would work. This was the first time Seren had used this kind of magic so it was a relieve when she could actually see again.

Her sight was black and white though. Not not a complain, just a mere observation. She had kind of expected it. While she had regained her sight, Caleb had been left blind in her stead. Not like the hell-hound seemed to care much about his situation. Due to being so close to each other, Seren could clearly feel through their bond how happy the hound felt about, well, being close to his master. 

Such a silly pup.

Either way, as soon as everything was dealt with, Caleb would return to his original mission and the distance would be too much for the spell to still work. Seren would have to wait for her eyes to heal naturally.

“You sure you did the ritual right?” She heard Dean ask Bobby. The man must have sent him a look, because the Winchester was quick to add. “Sorry. Touchy, touchy, huh?”

Seren opened her mouth to make a comment of her own when a sudden violent shiver went down her back. She felt the hairs at her nape raising. No, not hers. Caleb’s. His hackles were raised, full alert. Defensive of both his master and himself. Whatever was coming, it terrified him. A menace.

Something he would rather avoid at all cost.

If the hell-hound remained on his post, it was only because his master was still inside the warehouse.

 _Keep watch_ , Seren instructed through their bond. _If anything happens, return to your post._

Caleb didn’t like that. She could sense a mix of a growl and a whine at the order. But she was firm on it.

The roof started to rattle violently.

Bobby and Dean were quickly on their feet, their hands reaching for their shotguns. They positioned themselves at the far end of the warehouse and Seren followed suit. Three pairs of eyes scanned the ceiling as the plates of the roof hit the rafters.

“Wishful thinking,” Dean started. “but maybe it’s just the wind.”

Seren let out a dry laugh at that.

If only.

The lights burst. Shards falling to the floor as sparks keep raining from the lamps, illuminating the place in bright explosions of light. Dean and Bobby were blinded by the electric flashes from the broken bulbs, covering their eyes in an attempt to see what was happening. Seren was glad for the sunglasses on that matter.

She could see. 

She saw the plank holding the double door closed break with a loud crack as both sides of the door opened ever so slowly. She saw the figure of a man in a suit and a trenchcoat make his way inside, his steps resolute. She saw his attention focused on them as he walked closer, only sparing a side glance in both directions to see the paintings on the walls as if they were nothing more than children’s doodles.

And Seren felt the imposing presence that man possessed. She recognized it, the duality it had made her feel the first time during the seánce. Ominous, powerful and otherworldly yet she felt a hint of familiarity.

That man was Castiel.

She tried to speak, to let the others know, but a gunshot drowned her words as it echoed in the warehouse.

Dean had pulled the trigger.

But the man kept walking towards them as if nothing had happened. Only the holes in his clothes testified that Dean had not missed.

After a beat, Bobby followed Dean’s action and shot the intruder too.

It didn’t matter. Castiel wouldn’t be stopped so easily.

The hunters tried a second round with the same result as the first. Seeing no reaction whatsoever, they exchanged a confused and alarmed look between them.

Then Dean picked up the magic knife from the table, keeping it behind his back as Castiel approached him. Dean stepped away from him, and they started rounding each other.

“Who are you?” The Winchester asked.

“I’m the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition.” A gravelly voice answered.

_Brimstone smell. Humid heat. Tortured screams. Complete darkness._

Seren shook her head to get rid of the nightmare’s memory, a light ringing in her ears and a frown on her face as her mind went elsewhere for a moment.

“Thanks for that.” Dean’s words brought her back to the situation at hand.

She saw the Winchester taking impulse before stabbing Castiel’s chest with the magic knife. Holding her breath, lips pressed in a thing line, Seren contained a scream and limited herself to just watch the scene with wide eyes.

But nothing happened.

Dean took a step back.

Castiel hadn’t even flinched, his eyes fixed on Dean the whole time. Slowly and unconcerned, he stared down at the knife stuck in his chest as someone would look to check if there was a piece of lint on their clothes before his eyes went back to Dean. His stare didn’t waver as he took the knife out from his chest, letting it fall to the floor with a metallic sound.

Dean was frozen in place, not knowing how to react when the ace in their sleeve had failed so miserably. With nothing else, helpless, he turned to look at Bobby.

The old hunter charged against Castiel, crowbar in hand.

Useless.

Without even looking, Castiel easily grabbed Bobby’s weapon. Finally taking his attention from Dean, he turned Bobby around until they were face to face. The hunter was frozen in place, only able to watch as Castiel took two of his finger to his forehead. With just a light touch of Castiel’s fingertips, Bobby fell to the ground, the crowbar clicking on the floor as it bounced a few times. 

Both Dean and Seren couldn’t react, their expressions astonished, as they watched Bobby laying on the floor, completely still. If anyone said or did anything, Seren didn’t notice, her attention completely focused on he man on the floor. She was barely breathing as she tried to see the movement of his chest. 

She needed to know he was still alive. 

His chest expanded as he took a breath in, and Seren let out the faintest sight of relieve.

“We need to talk, Dean.” Castiel said staring at the Winchester once again before sparing a glance at Seren. “Alone.”

Seren’s muscles tensed, alert, her guard up and knife in hand. Not that it would make much of a difference since the magic knife had done nothing. Her pulse was trembling more than she would like as she held Castiel’s eyes, a knot forming on her throat.

Run.

Trying to not lose sight of Castiel for more than a second at a time, Seren looked at Dean. For what, she wasn’t sure. He was standing there, his attention divided between the intruder, Bobby on the floor and her. He tried to look composed and was doing a better job than her. At least he wasn’t shaking like her hand was. But there was something in his eyes when he looked at her.

He needed her there.

Run away.

“No.” She said aloud, her tone coming out firmer than she had expected it to be.

Castiel’s eyes studied her slowly for what felt like a long moment before turning to look at Dean. With what seemed to be a small nod, he moved to one of the tables and started perusing one of Bobby’s book on it.

Taking this chance, Dean was quick to kneel besides Bobby, looking for a pulse. Seren stepped closer to them, as if to cover them while focusing on Castiel. There was something about him that made her head hurt. It felt as if she was looking at to different images overlapped, and her brain didn’t know on which one to focus. One was the man in a trenchcoat in front of them; the other, she couldn’t comprehend.

“Your friend’s alive.” Castiel informed them.

“Who are you?” Dean repeated.

“What are you?” Seren asked at the same time.

That seemed to get the man’s attention, his eyes focusing on her for a moment before staring back at Dean.

“Castiel.” He answered the hunter. “I’m an Angel of the Lord.” He added, looking between them.

_A ball of white fire. Rings circling it. Thousands of eyes watching._

Seren’s heart was thumping.

“Get the hell out of here.” Dean got up slowly, stepping besides her as he glared at the so called angel. “There’s no such thing.”

“This is your problem, Dean.” Castiel said eyes piercing the hunter. “You have no faith.”

Lighting flashed and thunder roared. A pair of shadows unfolded behind Castiel, stretching along the walls and ceiling of the warehouse.

Wings.

“Bloody hell,” Seren let out in a breathy whisper, eyes fixed on the looming shadows.

The lighting stopped, and the image of wings was gone.

“Some angel you are.” Dean accused, unimpressed. “You burned out that poor woman’s eyes.”

Castiel looked down, a hint of what seemed remorse on his features.

“He warned Pamela to keep her distance.” Seren interrupted before he could say anything, her voice matter-of-fact. “She didn’t listen.”

Dean turned to her, brow slightly furrowed at her words. At some point, she had put her knife away and was standing firm, squared even, her head held high. She had her arms loosely crossed in front of her chest. It felt weird to see her like that. Dean couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something that made it feel slightly unnatural on her. He wasn’t even sure the woman was fully conscious of her own posture herself.

“She spied my true form.” Castiel told Dean. “It can be… overwhelming for humans, and so can my real voice. But you already knew that.”

“You mean the gas station and the motel. That was you talking?” Castiel answered him with a nod. “Buddy, next time lower the volume.”

“That was my mistake.” The angel admitted. “Certain people, special people,” He spare a look in Seren’s way. “Can perceive my true visage.”

Seren tilted her head to a side, squinting her eyes for a moment at Castiel. Could that be the overlapping image her brain seemed to perceive? Feeling Dean’s eyes on her at Castiel’s hint of her being one of the special people, expectant for a confirmation or denial, Seren turned to him and gave the hunter an exaggerated shrug of her shoulders as she tilted her head one side and the other, returning his puzzlement.

“I thought you would be one of them.” Castiel finished, staring at Dean. “I was wrong.”

“And what visage are you in now, huh?” Dean inquired. “What, holy tax accountant?”

A snort left Seren, turning away from them in an attempt to hide it. She wasn’t sure why she had found that comment so funny. Dean did gave her a twitch of a satisfied smile for a fraction of a second.

“This?” Castiel asked, looking somewhat proud as he checked his form and clothes. “This is… a vessel.”

“You’re possessing some poor bastard?” Dean accused with a grimace.

“I don’t think this is the kind of possession we are used to.” Seren commented head tilted as she seemed to observe Castiel. “Scriptures say angels only present themselves to the devout.”

“A possession is still a possession.” Dean snapped at her, frustrated.

Seren raised her hands in surrender. She didn’t know what she had expected by saying anything.

“He actually prayed for this.” Castiel nodded at Seren.

Satisfied with being right, she made a motion at Dean as if telling him ‘see?’. The Winchester just couldn’t believe she was trying to excuse Castiel’s actions. But she wasn’t trying to excuse anything, she was just trying to understand what was going on, and Dean’s denial of what now seemed obvious wasn’t helping their case.

“Well, I’m not buying what you’re selling.” Dean stubbornly insisted. “So who are you really?

A frown appeared in Castiel’s expression, confusion in his face as he slightly tilted his head to a side as if lost. He glanced at Seren, looking for support about the matter, but she had nothing for him.

“I told you.” He said, staring at Dean with pleading eyes.

It looked like he couldn’t understand why Dean would not believe his words.

“Right.” Dean conceded reluctantly, still wary. “And why would an angel rescue me from Hell?”

“Good things do happen, Dean.” Castiel assured, taking a few steps towards him.

“Not in my experience.” Dean muttered and Seren seconded it.

On her experience, for every good thing ten bad happened. And this one with Dean out of Hell was way too good to be true.

“You don’t think you deserve to be saved?” Castiel questioned Dean, as if reading the thought straight from the Winchester’s mind.

Seren stole a glance at the hunter from the corner of her eye, seeing him visibly tense. The angel had hit right on point and Dean didn’t seem to appreciate to be read like an open book.

“Why’d do you do it?” Dean asked.

Castiel licked his lips, “Because God commanded it.”

Those words made Seren become tense, her hands clenching into fist for a moment before she forced them to go lax again.

“Because we have work for you.” Castiel finished, his tone solemn.

A loud scoff awkwardly echoed in the warehouse and two pair of eyes fixed on Seren. Dean was giving her a puzzled look, as if asking for her to share the joke, while Castiel squinted his eyes at her as if admonishing her for being disrespectful. Even with that, it took Seren a few more secondsto realize that the sound had come from herself. 

Awkwardly clearing her throat, she kept acting oblivious. 

“We’ll meet again.” Castiel declared solemnly.

In the blink of an eye, he was gone, leaving behind the sound of fluttering wings.

After a few minutes in complete silence, Seren started laughing. At first it was just a chuckle but it grew until she was bending on herself, out of breath in a fit of laughter.

“Have you finally lost it?” Dean asked her, unamused.

“Sorry, sorry.” She apologized, trying to breath, waving a hand in front of her. “But this is hysterical. ‘Good things do happen, Dean.’” She quoted, her voice deep in an attempt to imitate Castiel’s tone. “Next moment, you’ve become God’s errand boy.” A new burst of laughter left her mouth before lowering her tone again.

“You find this funny?” Dean looked angry and hurt. “Seriously?”

“Of bloody course I don’t!” She practically growled. “This is nuts. Demons and monster are one thing. But celestial beings?” She started pacing, shaking her head. “Are you bloody kidding me?”

This was bad news. Awful news. What was she supposed to do? If all that had been said in that warehouse, if everything Castiel had told them was true, then it wouldn’t be just Dean who was on the angels’ radar. How else would she have known to go to Dean’s grave? How—

“There’s something I’ve been wondering.” Dean started and Seren stopped her pacing to pay him her whole attention. “When you saw me at Bobby’s.” Seren gave him a nod for him to continue. “Why did you hug me?”

He had caught her completely unguarded. Dean saw Seren open her mouth and close it the very next moment. She tried a few more times before rapidly shaking her head, as if to make a sudden dizziness or confusion to go away.

“What?” Was the only word she was able to stutter.

Dean was tempted for a moment to tease her, but this was more important. And he could always remind her in another occasion.

“Both Bobby and Sam thought at first that I was either a demon or a shapeshifter, and attacked me on sight.” Dean exposed. “But you didn’t.”

He would have preferred to look her in the eyes so he could better assess her reaction, but he could only see his own reflection in those stupid glasses.

She bit her lip as she took a hand to her mouth, about to bite her nails until she realized she had her gloves on, making her click her tongue in annoyance as she turned her head to a side.

Dean should have noticed this sooner, but Seren was more fidgeting than she would usually be. The only time she had seen her like this had been at the hospital after she had gone missing.

“You, huh, you doing okay?” He asked, not really knowing how to react nor what to expect.

“No.” Seren’s response was clipped. “This is too bloody much.” She sighed, rubbing her forehead while one of her feet tapped on the floor. “Why didn’t I attack you? I don’t bloody know.” She admitted, hands in the air, fed up with her situation and her own actions. “It didn’t even crossed my mind that you could have been a demon or a shapeshifter. I—” She cut herself off, worrying on her lip again.

She paced a few times more before going close to a table and leaning on it for a moment before jumping to sit on it, holding her head in her hands while resting her elbows on her knees.

“You had a hunch?” Dean tried to guess. Or to help her. He wasn’t sure.

“No,” Seren said. Her tone sounded strange, as if she had realized something. “I just… knew.” she muttered almost to herself. She raised her head and Dean could feel her eyes looking at him before she added, a bitter smile on her lips. “I knew it was you.”

Dean was taken aback by her admission. But he was fast to recover.

“It was my unique charm, wasn’t it?” He asked with a lopsided smirk, trying to lighten the mood. They both needed it.

Seren let out a little raspberry as a laugh escaped her lips.

“Sure, pretty boy.” She conceded, shaking her head, slightly amused. “Such a charming lad is one of a kind after all.” She got back down of the table, taking a look around. “Maybe we should start thinking of clearing this place.” Her eyes fell on Bobby. “And we still have to wake him up. Do we have smelling salts?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for going silent for so long. Thought it was better to come back with an actual chapter than posting an empty one with just the "Hey, I'm still alive" notice.  
> This year hasn't been kind and these last month has been a nightmare for me. Skipping the detials, I was just too drained to even think about this fic even if I still love it to bits.
> 
> Hope you guys are doing okay and wish you the best for this new year.  
> Love you lots.

**Author's Note:**

> If you find any mistake, of any kind, don't doubt to tell me.  
> Remember that kudos and comments give me life.  
> Thanks for reading.


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